


Gender-Neutral Sweeteners

by orphan_account



Series: Sugar Benefactor [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, AU - Modern Setting, Aged Down Veterans, Aged Up Trainee Squad, Ambiguity, Coffee, Confusion, Developing Relationship, First Impressions, Gender-Neutral Hange Zoë, Gender-Neutral Terminology, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-02 14:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5252234
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is accused of attempting to be a Sugar Daddy.</p><p>Armin is perceptive.</p><p>Eren is passionate and more perceptive than people may expect.</p><p>Mikasa makes her points bluntly.</p><p>Hange notices things.</p><p>Erwin is unsurprisingly perceptive.</p><p>Or:</p><p>"He followed me home, mom." Levi says, completely dry, so dry that it makes Eren sort of thirsty. "Can I keep him?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Gender-Neutral Sweeteners

**Author's Note:**

> My first foray into Attack on Titan fanfiction. I've been drawn into Ereri shipping since maybe the beginning, but how pedophilic it typically tends to be sits all wrong with me. That's why the character ages are different than in canon. This AU concept sort of snuck up on me, and I can't be sure why, but I like it. I may do some more of it. Then again, I may not. Regardless, I'm fairly pleased with this.

Eren's pretty sure he's half-asleep right now, and that's estimating nicely. He's standing outside of a local coffee shop, right across the street from his college, and he's fucking broke.

Way too broke for the amount of espresso he wants. Not quite broke enough for a black coffee, but there's probably coffee back at the apartment...but not _good_ coffee. And that's really relevant.

 

To coffee or not to coffee, that is the question.

 

...

 

Fuck, he's so tired. He slumps onto the bench outside of the place and puts his hands in his hoodie pocket. He looks like he feels, probably, hoodie and sweatpants and screaming "broke college student" out of every pore.

 

Maybe if he just...closed his eyes....

 

He thinks he might mutter "Espresso" before falling asleep, but he's really not enough of a functional person at the moment to be sure.

 

* * *

 

"Hey, fuck you!"

 

What the hell. Levi turns his head up to see the broke college student who was fast asleep about ten seconds ago _glaring_ at him. What the hell?

 

"What." Levi asks, flatly. He's unwilling to deal with this shit right now. He did something good, felt charitable, and now he's being yelled at. This is why he didn't want to wake up this morning, probably.

 

"I can get my own coffee!" The kid says. Levi removes his hold on the cup he'd been placing next to the kid and takes a step back.

 

"No, you can't. You're broke." Levi says.

 

"How do you know that?" The kid challenges, like an idiot.

 

"Look at yourself, kid." Levi says. "You've got that broke college student aura oozing from every crevice of your body."

 

"So the fuck what?!" The kid yells. "Doesn't mean I want your money!"

 

"It's fucking coffee." Levi says. "Drink it or don't, I don't care."

 

"Sure," The kid says, sarcasm dripping rather obviously. "I buy that. Totally. And what's next, huh? Occasional food, maybe twenty dollars now and then, until we get down to it and we're fucking and I'm being pampered. No thanks, pal! I don't want a fucking sugar daddy! Or. Sugar parent. Sugar benefactor? Whatever, point is, I'm not interested."

 

"What the fuck." Levi says.

 

He's actually been thrown for a loop. Sugar...no. He's not. He's not even that well off, he's got a job, sure, but. What the fuck, no. He was trying to be nice, this is what being pleasant gets him. Hange is so going to be hearing about this. Fuck this.

 

"I don't want you to suck my dick, kid." Levi says. "And if I did, I would've tried to stick around after leaving your shitty coffee."

 

"Then why the coffee?" The kid asks, not backing down in the slightest. It's almost impressive, but mostly just stupid.

 

"I was trying to be nice for once in my god-fucking-forsaken life. Fuck me." Levi says.

 

"...I thought we just went over this." The kid says, and Levi does not fucking know if the kid is joking or being seriously, and suddenly, he _does not care_.

 

"Fuck this." Levi says, turning and walking away.

 

The kid doesn't follow him.

 

* * *

 

It's...not his usual. But it's got plenty of espresso. So. Maybe it's okay?

 

Fuck it. He downs the coffee and hopes there's no roofies.

 

...

 

Good news is, he totally makes it home and doesn't pass out for like six hours. 

 

Hell yes.

 

* * *

 

Armin's got his head down on one of the tables in the coffee shop across from the college. At one point, he was trying to study, but then...tired. And no.

 

The little bell above the door tinkles, and Armin moves his eye to see who is coming in, just out of habit. It's just another person in their twenties looking bored with the world. Dark hair, flat eyes, pale skin. Armin briefly starts cataloguing for depression, then sighs. _Tired_.

 

 He sits up again, shifts and stretches slightly. The customer who just walked in glances at him briefly, before snapping their head back to the counter. Their jaw tightens not insignificantly.

 

Huh.

 

Now Armin's interest has been captured.

 

Why such an intense negative response to someone that, Armin assumes, this person has not seen before?

 

Possible issues:

 

Blonde hair (probably not, though still possible)

 

Small stature (his is not obvious enough to cause that much issue that quickly)

 

Seemingly androgynous (not noticeable unless a person is specifically looking for it; more information needed)

 

College student (most likely)

 

Okay, so college student. College student in a coffee shop. College student studying. Tired college student studying in a coffee shop....stranger with pale skin, dark hair, and flat eyes.

 

  
_Click_.

 

It's Eren's fucking sugar benefactor. 

 

Armin actually has to actively prevent his expression from changing. This is sort of hilarious, and not just because he's tired. Probably.

 

Armin stands and takes his empty cup over to the waste. He orders another cup of black coffee, then mixes in some sugar and briefly debates on getting a pastry. Hm...they do have strawberry, and he does have some extra cash...

 

He springs for the pastry and carefully sets down his purchases at his table. He then takes out the exact amount of money that he's calculated the coffee that Eren described would have cost.

 

He walks over to the table that the sugar benefactor is sitting at, and sets the money down.

 

"Eren doesn't really like to owe people." He says. "But your gesture was appreciated."

 

He goes to turn and walk away, and while he does, he hears a muttered "fucking brats."

 

* * *

 

"You!" 

 

Levi stops in his tracks. That voice is familiar. It's...oh, fucking hell.

 

"Hey!" The kid - Eren - stops next to him. "Here."

 

Levi looks at the hand that Eren is holding out. There's a ten dollar bill in it.

 

"What is this, reverse prostitution?" Levi asks.

 

"No!" Eren says. "I hate owing people. So here."

 

"Not only is this way too much for a lousy cup of coffee," Levi says. "But your friend already paid me back."

 

"It wasn't bad coffee," Eren objects, then seems to think. "Wait, which friend?"

 

"Blonde," Levi says. 

 

"Gonna need more than that." Eren says.

 

"Small?" Levi says, though he's not actually certain of how small the kid was in comparison to Eren. "Blue eyes."

 

"Still got three. Anything else?" Eren says, seeming almost familiar with this particular form of interrogation. 

 

"Sort of...androgynous." Levi says.

 

"Armin!" Eren cries. "Of course. Wouldn't have been surprised if it was Hist- er, Christa, though. She's sweet like that. Did Armin...say anything?"

 

"Your name is Eren and you don't like to owe people." Levi says flatly. "Also, my gesture was appreciated."

 

"Classic Armin." Eren says, nodding. "Still though! While I've got you here, I wanted to say sorry for the other day."

 

Levi looks around them. They're stopped near the edge of the sidewalk, without an excessive amount of people near them. Still, he should really continue on. He might be late for work, which honestly isn't a huge deal, but who knows what his squad will get up to without him (working diligently in fear that he'll suddenly burst into their offices, probably).

 

"Whatever." Levi says, already turning to keep walking. "No big issue."

 

"Hey, don't just walk away!" Eren cries, following after him. 

 

"I have work." Levi says. "I'll be late."

 

"Oh," Eren says. "Whoops."

 

The kid almost sounds deflated. Levi turns to look at Eren, and really doesn't know what to do with the genuine expression of apology on that face.

 

"You're like a fucking puppy." Levi says, without really thinking. What's he doing? Encouraging this? He's an idiot. He decides to blame Hange.

 

"Huh?" Eren asks, with a tilt of the head that really cannot be accidental, no way, come on, who the fuck even does that?

 

"I don't like puppies." Levi says, deciding to just go with this. "Fuck off."

 

"Wow," Eren says. "Fuck you too."

 

This statement does not actually mean Eren is going away. The kid continues walking right at Levi's side.

 

"Thought we already had this conversation." Levi mutters.

 

"True enough!" Eren agrees, rather pleasantly. Jeez, what the fuck? How does Levi attract weirdos like this? One cup of shitty coffee and now he's got this kid following him like a dog.

 

"Seriously kid, what the hell do you want?" Levi asks as they near his work building.

 

"I'm not sure," Eren says. "Should be interesting to find out, though!" 

 

"You remind me of someone I know," Levi says. "They're just as irritating."

 

"Cool, so you're used to it already!" Eren says. Levi considers beating his head against a nearby wall, then discards the idea. He can only imagine the amount of flowers at his bedside in the hospital and how disgustingly passive-aggressive some will be (read: Erwin's).

 

Levi sighs when he gets to the building and Eren just follows him in. He raises one hand at the secretary and keeps walking, right over the stairs and then up to his office from there. Eren is right next to him the entire time, not seeming to tire at all.

 

"Wow, fancy place." Eren comments. "Bet the people who work here are loaded."

 

"Not enough to be a sugar daddy," Levi says.

 

"Sugar benefactor," Eren corrects. "Oh, is this your office?"

 

Levi doesn't answer, just pulls out his key and opens the door. Eren, predictably, walks right in with him.

 

"Wow." Eren says, looking around at Levi's spotless office and decidedly not using the impressed tone from earlier. "You're really in for the personal touch, huh?"

 

"Shut up." Levi says. "I don't recall asking for your opinion. Or inviting you up here, for that matter."

 

"Didn't kick me out," Eren says. "Could've told the secretary to call security or something."

 

Fuck, why didn't he do that? Probably desensitized to annoying people following him around. All Hange's fault. Wait. That's actually not a bad idea...

 

"What do you do, anyway?" Eren asks.

 

Levi shrugs, then goes over to the wall and knocks on it, loudly.

 

"Hange!" He yells at it. "What's my job description?"

 

"Specialist!" They yell back.

 

"Details?"

 

There's a pause, and then the door to his office is yanked open, and Hange strolls in.

 

"Specialist consultant." They say. "Anything beyond that is pretty much just looping around giving you specific duties or a real title."

 

"And what's yours?" Levi asks.

 

"Specialist!" Hange cries. "Researcher! Grant proposer! User of Lab number - wait, who is this?"

 

35 seconds, Levi notes, filing that away in his mind.

 

"Eren." Levi says. "My new puppy."

 

"Awww," Hange cooes, getting very much into Eren's personal space. "How cute! No collar, though."

 

The pout Hange sends his way is unreal.

 

"I'm totally not his puppy." Eren says, which makes Hange deflate even more.

 

"But you have the perfect look for it," Hange says.

 

"So I've heard," Eren says, sending a pointed look your way. Levi ignores it and sits down at his desk, pinching the bridge of his nose. He really doesn't know what he's doing. The kid he got coffee for in a brief and rare display of charity followed him to work, and Hange hasn't actually done the only thing they're good for and scared the kid away yet. 

 

It gets even better when there's a knock on his door and Auruo walks in.

 

* * *

 

Eren's been following Levi to work on and off for weeks now, and though Levi still claims to be irritated by it, he doesn't actually appear to be. Eren will bring school work or books or Armin's latest scripts and keep quiet for long stretches, completely absorbed.

 

Hange comes into Levi's office sometimes, and conversations with them are always...interesting? Eren is nearly entirely certain that he couldn't possibly irritate Levi that much, not when he's used to dealing with Hange, who is frankly exhausting to watch or listen to.

 

Sometimes Eren and Levi talk. It's one of those days, the talking days, and Eren's got warm drinks for the two of them and a bag with a couple pastries and an excessive amount of napkins. He always does his best to have something, even on weeks when he's sort of broke and it's just tea. Levi seems to like the tea better, actually, and this time Eren's gone ahead and gotten him one of those tea latte things that Armin likes.

 

They don't actually talk much on the walk there, though Eren notices Levi's surprise at the new drink. He seems to like it, which Eren is sure to make a note of.

 

Later, though, in Levi's office, while Eren's doing his second read-through of the new script Armin gave to him last night, Levi speaks up.

 

"What is that?" He asks, which makes Eren snap his head up. It's very rare for Levi to start the conversations.

 

"Script," Eren says. "For the podcast."

 

"You do a podcast?" Levi says, and Eren can't quite place his tone. He decides on flat, just as a default setting.

 

"Yeah," Eren says. "Mostly Armin writes, I read, and Mikasa edits. There's different people that get used, though. I'm the unreliable narrator, but Armin narrates sometimes because he actually knows what's going on. And our friends are guest voices sometimes, for the other characters. It's rarer for Mikasa to voice stuff, but when she does, it's pretty intense. She edits really well, though. So do some of the others, when Mikasa's swamped."

 

"Is it online?" Levi asks. 

 

"Yeah," Eren says. "Somewhere. I don't pay much attention to that."

 

"Of course you don't." Levi says. "What's it about?"

 

"A war that's supposedly impossible to win," Eren says. "The main characters are training to fight in it and they've all got different perspectives. It's interesting to voice, because it's such an inherent struggle for everyone."

 

"You don't think it's impossible." Levi says. It's not a question.

 

"No." Eren says, simply, honestly. 

 

There's a silence, and it feels like that's the end, but it's not a bad end, when Levi's door opens.

 

"Levi." A brief pause. "Who is this?"

 

There's a large person with blonde hair and...interesting...eyebrows. This person noticed him far quicker than Hange. Eren didn't even notice this person looking around the room, just walking in and zeroing in on what wasn't meant to be there.

 

It's sort of terrifying, in a very unique way. Sort of reminds him or Armin and Mikasa.

 

Levi just looks at this person, hands folded under his chin, perfectly blank expression.

 

"He followed me home, mom." Levi says, completely dry, so dry that it makes Eren sort of thirsty. "Can I keep him?"

 

"Please?!" Hange says, popping up in the doorway and scaring the shit out of Eren, who should really be more used to this by now.

 

"What the fuck, Hange," Eren says, one hand to where his heart is beating intensely. 

 

"C'mon Erwin," Hange pleads. "Let us keep him!"

 

"No," Levi says. "There is no 'us'. This brat is my brat. You're not experimenting on him or cutting him open or anything other weird shit. Fuck off and get your own. Or rather, don't, because no brat could possibly deserve that, no matter _how_ irritating they are."

 

The person - Erwin - looks at Levi and Hange squabbling for a moment, then turns to Eren, who quickly stands up.

 

"Erwin Smith." Erwin says, holding out one hand to Eren. "Are you Levi's new intern?"

 

"Eren Jaeger," Eren says, and the same time Levi says "Fuck no."

 

"Hey, don't be rude," Eren says. "I could do intern work."

 

"Shut up." Levi says. "Can I even have an intern? I mean, seriously Erwin. How would you put that down?"

 

"Assistant to our resident specialist and consultant." Erwin says. "That's roughly what your squad is listed as."

 

"This place makes no sense." Levi says. "And neither do the people who work here."

 

Eren smacks his fist on his open, horizontal palm.

 

"That's why you work here! Finally, it was really bugging me."

 

The look that Levi gives him is sort of indescribable, but if Eren had to try, he'd probably use words like "resigned" and "intense" and "irritated."

 

* * *

 

"Why?" Levi asks, one day.

 

Eren looks up, distracted. He's working on school work today, Levi notes, then wonders when he started noticing that.

 

"Why what?" Eren asks, and Levi would snap at him if he didn't know that everything Eren did was genuine, and it probably hasn't bothered Eren at all, following him, he probably thought that Levi understood and had since the first week. First day, even.

 

But Levi doesn't understand. And he finds himself having been seized with the need to know.

 

"Why did you start this?" Levi asks. "Why me? Why do work in my office? Why not at your apartment? Why follow me, what's so important about this?"

 

Because Levi knows that it's important, or Eren wouldn't do it. And he doesn't know what to do about that, what to feel about that, just that it...means something.

 

"The coffee." Eren says. "You bought coffee for a stranger and didn't want anything for it. And you're, like, really irritable all the time. It's not something you normally would do. There's reasons why people do that stuff, why they suddenly get all charitable. And then you let me yell at you, and you let Armin pay you, and then you let me walk with you. And I know what that stuff can mean. So I wanted to know you. And then it worked, so I stayed, and you never kicked me out."

 

He says it all the way he says anything, with all of himself, with serious meaning and intent.

 

Levi has nothing to respond with. 

 

Eren puts his head back down after a minute (exactly a minute, Levi still counts seconds so he knows) of staring at him with that same, serious face. He goes back to his work.

 

Levi blinks twice, then goes back to his own.

 

* * *

 

When Levi gets to the spot that Eren says he usually waits at, Mikasa starts walking, matching his pace immediately.

 

"Eren is sick." She says. "He wanted you to know."

 

Levi doesn't turn his head to look at her. His face is blank.

 

"He told me to bring tea." She says. 

 

Her hands are empty. She knows that Levi knows this.

 

"He cares." She says, once they're at his building. "Too much, maybe."

 

"I've noticed." Levi says, tone much like hers, a bit drier.

 

"Good." She says, turning and walking away.

 

She knows that Levi does not stare at her retreating form. She can hear one of the doors to the building open, can tell that he walked through it without a second thought.

 

What might have caused him to move like her, she wonders, then internally shifts the thought aside. Too much time listening to Armin, she thinks. 

 

She gets back to the apartment fairly quickly. She's quiet, because Eren is sleeping (or he should be, sick bodies need rest, even stubborn ones like his) and Armin is in class, but sometimes that class is dismissed early and if he is in his room, he needs to focus.

 

She sits down at her computer to edit the latest recording, encounter with Levi already filed away for another time.

 

* * *

 

"What the fuck do you mean you're my new intern." Levi says, and even though it's phrased like a question, it certainly doesn't sound like one.

 

"Hey, I submitted paperwork and everything." Eren says. "I got approved, it was totally legal."

 

"I don't recall approving you." Levi says.

 

"That would be because you didn't," Erwin says from the doorway. Eren kind of really hates that he does that. "I did."

 

"Technically," Hange says from behind Erwin, because they love giving Eren _heart attacks_ , seriously, what is wrong with the people who work here? "He's not your intern. He's part of your general team, but he's not _specifically_ your intern. He's the company's intern."

 

"So his job description is as stupid as mine." Levi sums up, and Erwin nods.

 

"Essentially, yes." He says.

 

"And the two of you decided this without me." Levi says.

 

"Yep!" Hange says. "We had a secret meeting and everything!"

 

"Fuck you guys," Levi says. "A small amount more than normal."

 

"Wow," Eren says. "You know, I'm still standing right here."

 

"Don't care." Levi says.

 

"You should," Erwin says. "Since he'll be mostly under your supervision. You'll have to assign him work, make sure he's being productive. Although, your work schedule can be rather spotty, so sometimes I suppose you'll have to make up new assignments for him. Whatever you deem necessary."

 

Eren, in a move that is still fairly rare, but less than when he was younger, is silent. He thinks he understands what's happening, what this means, and it's....well.

 

"Thank you," Eren says, hit by the urge to salute at Erwin or something. "I won't waste this opportunity. I appreciate that you are willing to take this chance on me."

 

Erwin nods at him, all seriousness and business, then gives Levi the same nod. Hange leaps backwards to stay out of his way, then looks at Eren and nods as well. He can see the shine in their eyes, familiar to him, and he nods back. They leave, then, presumably to go back to their office.

 

"If you don't have anything for me today, I could go home, get out of your hair," Eren offers, looking at Levi. He thinks that Levi knows what he's offering.

 

"Tch," Levi almost rolls his eyes, Eren can tell. He tries not to let that make him smile. "Trying to get out of work already? I don't think so. Go check with Erd and Gunther, see if they have those reports ready for me. And get me some tea."

 

"Yes, sir." Eren says, smiling. Levi is looking down at his desk, maybe avoiding his gaze on purpose.

 

"And make the tea right," Levi calls as Eren walks out of the office.

 

Eren grins.

 

* * *

 

"It's just - "

 

"Hange, no."

 

"But - "

 

"I said no."

 

"Technically it's not - "

 

"Technicalities are bullshit."

 

"Are not! You're just avoiding your emotions, Levi."

 

"Shut the fuck up."

 

"No."

 

"..."

 

"Please, Levi. We can see it - "

 

"You've already meddled enough."

 

"Hardly," Hange says softly. "If you're still being stubborn."

 

Levi's head is in his hands. He feels like he's in pain.

 

"Three years," Hange says. "Is not a lifetime."

 

"I'm older than that." Levi says. "In the ways that matter."

 

"So is he." Hange says.

 

Levi knows that they're right.

 

* * *

 

"Are we friends, Levi?"

 

Levi freezes at his desk. He looks up. 

 

Eren is sitting in his usual spot, reading a book. He's already finished filing the reports Levi made him run and get, and he's replenished Levi's tea three times so far. He does it like clockwork, like he's memorized how much time it takes for the tea to get just too cool for Levi to drink it.

 

Brat probably has.

 

"Haven't kicked you out yet," Levi says, slowly. It's been months, nearly a year, actually. 

 

Eren hums, still looking down at his book. It's like he's giving Levi an out, but not so Levi won't have to notice and consciously make the choice.

 

Manipulative little shit.

 

"What brought this on?" Levi asks, tapping his pen on his desk.

 

"Been about a year," Eren says. "We've talked. Serious stuff. But not us, not feelings about this."

 

"I'm shit at those." Levi says.

 

"So?" Eren says, looking up, directly into Levi's eyes.

 

So, indeed.

 

"What do you want from me?" Levi asks.

 

"You." Eren says, simply, openly, so raw and easy, like it isn't splitting his into pieces. But it's Eren, of course it's not, this is just him, what he always does.

 

"What if I can't give you that?" Levi asks.

 

"So long as we're clear." Eren says. "So long as we both know."

 

"You know," Levi says. "You're technically working for me. It's sort of an inappropriate relationship."

 

"You know it's not." Eren says. "You know."

 

He does.

 

Eren is still looking at him, challenging him.

 

"I don't have any reason not to," Levi says, almost like he's saying his thoughts allowed.

 

Eren shakes his head.

 

"I don't want - "

 

"And maybe I've wanted to."

 

Eren shuts up (a blessed miracle, Levi will have to file this away for the times that the kid's chattering away at a hundreds words per minute).

 

"Okay." He says, and then smiles that stupid smile.

 

* * *

 

"We're friends," Levi says, later. A week later, maybe. They're sitting, watching a movie.

 

"Good." Eren says.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed, thank you for reading, kudos are nice and comments are always thrilling to receive. I don't mind anything anyone has to say.
> 
> You can only contact me at: pennamepersona.tumblr.com.
> 
> [Buy me a coffee!](https://ko-fi.com/A375K8Q)


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